


Shy to the Touch

by treya_barton



Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 02:33:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18459659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/pseuds/treya_barton
Summary: I was honored to be invited to participate in Relxion's Souyo Zine Forever More.  Since the zine is now sold out, I am posting the story to share with everyone :)  I am also including the lovely art that Relxion drew for my story in the zine!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Relxion](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Relxion).



[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/26256737@N06/47604015071/in/dateposted/)

Not long into his relationship with Yosuke, Yu was learning new things about his boyfriend and himself.  The first thing he discovered was that Yosuke’s casual touches had not stopped once they started dating, and in fact only seemed to become more frequent and more intimate.  This surprised Yu who thought Yosuke, due to how he had acted earlier in the year, would be shy and use indiscretion, especially in public.  He was quickly learning that was not the case. 

Yosuke was constantly trying to take his hand or wrap his arm around Yu’s waist, and Yu started to realize that while he had always been fine with Yosuke’s casual touches, the intimate touches in public _bothered_ him for some reason.  He was hyper aware of the people around them and would carefully step away or move his hand when he spotted Yosuke reaching for it.  He could tell it hurt Yosuke’s feelings, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling of embarrassment that came from public displays of affection.  While he was overjoyed that Yosuke returned his feelings, actually being in a relationship was a wholly new concept to him, and growing up the way he did he wasn’t used to overt displays of affection from his parents who seemed to frown at the idea.

Yu felt the now familiar sensation of Yosuke’s hand trying to sneak its way around his back, and he immediately stiffened and stepped away again, placing a slight distance between them as they walked home after class.  It was a chilly spring day, and he only had a few months left in Inaba before he had to return to the city.  Yu didn’t want to think about that or how much he would miss this place, miss his friends, miss Yosuke.  He glanced over at his partner who had suddenly quieted and looked away once he noticed Yu looking at him.  Yu had been just quick enough to catch the disappointed expression cross his eyes, and the nervous way he reached at his neck like he wanted to grasp headphones that weren’t currently there.  Once the investigation had wrapped up and Yosuke had finally formed a support group in the team, he had stopped wearing them as often since he didn’t need them to drown out the negativity in town.  But it seemed Yu’s actions had made him want to reach for them again.

Yu felt his stomach twist painfully and he looked down, fully aware of the silence once Yosuke’s usually cheerful conversation had quieted.  He tried to come up with something to say, maybe to explain his odd actions in public, but he was interrupted.  “Hey, I think I’m just going to split here, if that’s ok with you,” Yosuke said, forcing a smile on his face.  “I’ve got some stuff going on at home to take care of.  Talk to you later, partner!”  He then waved before Yu could say anything and ran off, still incredibly fast even though it had been weeks since they had last had to go to the shadow world or train.

Yu watched him go with a frown on his face and sighed before bringing his hand up to his forehead in frustration.  Why was it so difficult to just hold his boyfriend’s hand or let Yosuke cozy up to him in public?  Especially when he knew how happy it would make him?  Yu couldn’t believe he’d push Yosuke away like that, to the point he felt like he needed his headphones as a shield again.  He felt like a real ass.  Yu’s frustration soon steeled into resolve, as he decided not to waste any time in making things right.  He would have to explain himself to Yosuke and hopefully set the young man’s mind at ease in the process.

Yu quickened his step and made his way down the familiar path that led to the Hanamura household, buzzing at the gate and immediately being greeted by Teddie.  “Sensei, am I glad to see you!” he said cheerfully, immediately letting him in.  Yu made his way to the front door and was surprised when Teddie flung it open and rushed out to him.

“Yosuke came home looking beary upset and locked himself in our room.  He won’t let me in!” Teddie said, giving Yu large, teary eyes.  “Do you know what happened?”

Yu felt guilt grip his chest at Teddie’s words.  “I…think I may have an idea,” he said, his voice a bit shaky.  “Can I go see him?”

“If it’s you sensei, he should let you in,” Teddie nodded.  He let Yu in before motioning him up the stairs, waving at him for good luck before returning to the living room where he had been watching TV.  Yosuke’s dad appeared to still be at work, and his mom was probably buying groceries for dinner since she wasn’t there either.

Yu took a deep breath before knocking on the door to Yosuke’s room, wincing when he heard Yosuke’s muffled voice say, “I told you to leave me alone, Ted!”  Yu could definitely tell Yosuke was upset, and he bit his lip.

“This isn’t Teddie,” he said, and it suddenly grew silent in the other room.  After a moment, Yu could hear Yosuke shift on his bed.

“I thought I told you I had important things to do,” Yosuke replied; Yu could tell he was trying to steady his voice and even used inflection to sound flippant, although it came out forced.

“Yosuke, please open the door,” Yu said, placing his hand on it as if it would summon Yosuke to him.

There was more silence before the bed creaked as Yosuke stood up and made his way over.  He stopped right in front of the door and appeared to hesitate for a moment before the door unlocked. He then seemed to walk away again, and Yu quickly turned the knob and opened it, before stepping into his boyfriend’s room and quietly closing and locking the door behind him just in case.  For what they were about to discuss, they needed privacy.

He looked over at Yosuke and sucked in his breath, for while he had obviously wiped the tears away, his eyes were red and puffy from crying.  “Oh, Yosuke,” Yu murmured, and the brunet glared at him.

“What?” he asked sulkily, and Yu stepped toward him.  Yosuke took a step back and Yu hesitated, realizing what it must have felt like for Yosuke over the past week.  “Why are you here?  I was beginning to think you didn’t like me after all,” Yosuke said, staring at him steadfastly.  His arms were crossed in a protective away, and Yu felt fear wash over him.  This was worse than he expected.

“You really thought that?” he asked, eyes honestly meeting Yosuke’s and showing his distress over the situation.  Yosuke seemed to hesitate at the direct question.

“A little,” he replied, looking down.  “I just…how could it be anything else but me?” he continued.  “I already knew you were too good for…”  Before he could finish, Yu stepped forward and pulled Yosuke to him.

“Don’t say it,” he said, his voice trembling slightly as he buried his head into Yosuke’s shoulder.  Yosuke was obviously surprised, but to Yu’s relief he gently wrapped his arms around him in reply.

“Then what is it?” he asked.

“I just…I get so nervous.  All I can think of is people staring,” Yu admitted.  “I thought you would be too but it doesn’t seem to faze you at all.”

Yu could feel Yosuke’s grin on his shoulder.  “Please, it can’t be anything worse than what’s been said about me this year,” he said, a surprising amount of confidence in his voice.  “If I’m with you, I don’t care what our classmates or the people in town say.”

His words calmed Yu who pulled away and looked him in the eyes.  “I’m proud of you for that,” he said.  “I think part of it for me is I didn’t grow up getting a lot of affection – my parents pretty much shun PDA – so when you started once we began dating…” he trailed off, showing Yosuke how guilty he felt.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just reacted before I even realized what I was doing.”

Yosuke sighed and shook his head.  “You should have told me, partner.  I would have stopped if I realized it was making you that uncomfortable.”

“I shouldn’t feel uncomfortable though,” Yu said in frustration.  “Like, right now, I don’t feel uncomfortable at all doing this…”  He reached forward and laced their fingers together.  “Or this,” he continued, using his free hand to cup Yosuke’s face, running his fingers through his hair in the process.  “Or…” he continued, before leaning forward to press his lips against Yosuke’s.  They were soft and eager as they melted into his, and Yosuke soon had his arms around Yu’s neck as he pressed close against him and deepened the kiss. 

When they finally pulled apart moments later, panting for breath, Yosuke lazily grinned and said, “We can just take it a step at a time.”  He seemed better now that he realized he hadn’t done something wrong to make Yu pull away from him all week.  “In fact, if you need us to practice…” he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows, and Yu laughed.  They heard the front door open and close downstairs, and realized that Yosuke’s mother was probably home and would be working on dinner soon.

“Want to join us for dinner?” Yosuke asked.  “Let me let mom know you’re here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yu said, eyes full of admiration as he looked at Yosuke.  He had really grown that year, and was being incredibly patient which he appreciated.  That and his assured words about their relationship was already starting to make him feel a little more confident himself.  ‘Everyone seems to miss just how amazing he is,’ he mused, although he had to admit he was kind of jealous at the idea of sharing some of those sides with anyone else.  He liked some of the glimpses that only he got to see.

The next day, when they met up on their way to class, Yu casually reached out and gripped Yosuke’s hand without missing a beat in the conversation, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  Yosuke gave him that rare grin that only he got to see, the shyly happy one with the flushed cheeks and warm eyes that never failed to dazzle him.  Yosuke carefully laced their fingers together and looked content when Yu let him this time without pulling away.  He continued to chatter with Yu, ignoring the stares from a few of their classmates that they passed by on the way, and Yu carefully tamped down his slight anxiety at the attention as they walked.  Yosuke’s smile was definitely worth it, and he would continue to work until those displays of affection became second nature to him.  He had such limited time with Yosuke after all, and he should enjoy the moments they had together to their fullest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told from Yosuke's point of view.

Yosuke’s lungs burned as he dashed down the street, gritting his teeth at the hot pinprick of tears forming in his eyes.  He refused to cry over something so idiotic, especially in front of Yu.  In no time at all, Yosuke arrived at his house, and he typed the code into his gate with trembling fingers before making his way to his door, trying his best to calm his features before he faced his family.  He took a few deep breaths before swinging the door open, immediately catching the attention of Teddie who was lounging in the living room watching TV.  “Yosuke!” he shouted happily, sitting up and staring at him from the back of the couch.  “I thought you were going to be out with sensei?” he asked, blue eyes staring at Yosuke as his excitement dropped; he could tell something was off. 

Yosuke ignored him as he slid his shoes off at the door.  It seemed his parents weren’t home either – his dad worked late often so that wasn’t a surprise, while his mom must have been out getting groceries for dinner; Yosuke welcomed it since it meant only having to deal with Teddie.  His parents were a bit harder to brush off.  “Yosuke?” Teddie asked again, pouting at being ignored.

“Something came up Ted,” Yosuke said, internally wincing at his sharp tone of voice.  It wasn’t Teddie’s fault after all.  “I’m going up to my room – I’d appreciate it if you gave me some space for awhile,” he said, not meeting Teddie’s eyes.  He then made his way past him and up the stairs, ignoring Teddie’s whining as he headed to his room.  Once he safely got inside and closed and locked the door behind him, Yosuke walked over to where his headphones were resting next to his computer and snatched them up, plugging them into his mp3 player he had recently gotten to replace his old Walkman, before collapsing on his bed as music began to play.

Yosuke knew that Yu was bad about showing affection.  Even before the recent change in their relationship, it was usually Yosuke initiating the friendly touches and hanging all over him while Yu patiently accepted it.  He was more reserved in nature, but at least before he never seemed to mind it.  Now that they were dating?  Sometimes he wouldn’t even accept an arm over the shoulder like he used to.  Yosuke bit his lip and turned over, staring at his wall.  Maybe…Yu didn’t like him after all.  Maybe he had picked up that Yosuke had started liking him and didn’t want to hurt his feelings.  Yosuke knew his logic wasn’t sound since Yu had confessed first but…  Honestly, they were dating now, and it was like nothing had changed.  Yu refused to even hold his hand for crying out loud!

Yosuke let out a deep sigh, feeling overwhelmed.  He didn’t know what to think anymore.  He had tried to be patient with Yu and slowly get him used to the idea of showing more affection – Yosuke was kind of needy he was discovering and enjoyed being physically close to people once they got past his barriers – but all it seemed to be doing was driving his boyfriend away.  Maybe moving beyond friends was a mistake.  Yosuke felt those pinpricks from earlier transform into hot tears, and he started blinking rapidly in order to keep them in check.  He wasn’t going to cry, dammit!

He suddenly heard the sound of the gate buzz through the music of his headphones, and he slid them down to his neck in confusion in order to try to hear what was going on.  It couldn’t have been his parents since they would have just come inside, so Yosuke was curious as to who it could be.  He heard a scrambling downstairs as Teddie went to answer the door, and his usual noise as he greeted whoever it was, but the walls in the Hanamura household were just thick enough to muffle any words…and whoever Teddie was speaking to was just quiet enough that he couldn’t tell who it was.  Yosuke sniffled slightly, and then realized to his horror that some of his tears managed to have made their way down his cheeks.  He rubbed at them with the sleeve of his school jacket, freezing when he heard footsteps making their way up the stairs.  Especially when there was suddenly a soft knock at his door.

It seemed uncharacteristic for Teddie, but Yosuke still found himself saying irritably, “I told you to leave me alone, Ted!” while rubbing at his eyes some more.

“This isn’t Teddie,” an all too familiar voice replied, and Yosuke dropped his arm in surprise.  Apparently, it was Yu standing outside of his door.  Yosuke immediately quieted, not really knowing how to handle the situation – he had just been crying about the guy after all.  And he definitely didn’t want Yu to know how upset he made him.  Guilt gnawed at his chest and he suddenly wondered if he was quiet if Yu would just leave. 

When after a moment Yu made no indication of doing so, Yosuke ventured, “I thought I told you I had important things to do?” hoping that would convince him instead.  He tried to sound flippant, but winced when his voice cracked a little.

“Yosuke…please open the door,” Yu replied, and Yosuke felt his heart ache at the sound.  His voice had a slight neediness to it that Yosuke wasn’t used to, and it is what caused Yosuke to get up and hesitantly head to the door.  He unlocked it but didn’t open it, taking off his headphones and setting them on the small table in his room as he heard the door swing open behind him.  Yu stepped inside and quietly closed and locked the door before looking up as Yosuke turned to face him.  Yosuke watched his eyes widen slightly as Yu involuntarily took in a deep breath at seeing his state.  Yosuke’s heart pounded slightly and he couldn’t help but feel a little bit ashamed.  He hadn’t wanted Yu to see this.  “Oh…Yosuke,” Yu said softly, and Yosuke couldn’t help but bristle slightly at the remark.

“What?” he bit out, suddenly feeling surely.  He didn’t want Yu feeling sorry for him.

Yu’s eyes flicked up to his face, and he took a step toward Yosuke, hesitating when Yosuke shifted away from him in response.  A moment of hurt briefly crossed his face that Yu tried to mask, and Yosuke felt slight satisfaction that immediately faded into self-loathing.  God, he was an ass wasn’t he?  Especially when he suddenly spilled out, “Why are you here?  I was beginning to think you didn’t love me after all.”  Instead of sounding biting like he intended, there was a slight tremble in his voice that gave him away.

Yu’s eyes shot back at him and he looked truly distressed at his words.  “You really thought that?” he immediately asked, eyes searching Yosuke’s desperately.

Yosuke looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes.  “A little.”  He trailed off for a moment.  “I just…how can it be anything else but me?” he asked, finally voicing his fears.  “I already knew you were too good for…” 

Before Yosuke could finish, he found himself suddenly in his partner’s arms as Yu roughly pulled him to his chest.  “Don’t say it,” Yu said, voice shaky as he buried his head in Yosuke’s shoulder.  “It’s not true.  You _know_ that.”

Yosuke’s eyes closed and he carefully wrapped his arms around Yu.  “Then what is it?” he finally asked, for the question had been gnawing at him since they started dating.

“I just…I get so nervous.  All I can think of is people staring,” Yu admitted.  “I thought you would be too but it doesn’t seem to faze you at all.”

Yosuke felt relief flood through him – it wasn’t him after all – and he couldn’t help but grin into Yu’s shoulder.  He felt Yu relax at the feeling as he chuckled.  “Please, it can’t be anything worse than what’s been said about me this year.  If I’m with you, I don’t care what our classmates or the people in town say.”

Yu then pulled away to look into Yosuke’s eyes, and Yosuke gazed back at him, struck by Yu’s sincere expression.  “I’m proud of you for that,” he said.  “I think part of it for me is I didn’t grow up getting a lot of affection – my parents pretty much shun PDA – so when you started once we began dating…” he trailed off, showing Yosuke how guilty he felt.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just reacted before I even realized what I was doing.”

Yosuke sighed and shook his head.  “You should have told me, partner.  I would have stopped if I realized it was making you that uncomfortable.”

“I shouldn’t feel uncomfortable though,” Yu said in frustration.  “Like, right now, I don’t feel uncomfortable at all doing this…”  He reached forward and laced their fingers together.  “Or this,” he continued, using his free hand to cup Yosuke’s face, running his fingers through his hair in the process.  Yosuke shivered at the touch, and felt sudden anticipation thrum through his veins.  “Or…” he continued, before leaning forward to press his lips against Yosuke’s.  They were soft and eager as they melted into his, and Yosuke soon had his arms around Yu’s neck as he pressed close against him and deepened the kiss. 

When they finally pulled apart moments later, panting for breath, Yosuke lazily grinned and replied, “We can just take it a step at a time.”  He felt better now that he realized he hadn’t done something wrong to make Yu pull away from him all week.  “In fact, if you need us to practice…” he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows, and Yu laughed.  They heard the front door open and close downstairs, and realized that Yosuke’s mother was probably home and would be working on dinner soon.

“Want to join us for dinner?” Yosuke asked.  “Let me let mom know you’re here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yu said, and Yosuke grinned at him.  He couldn’t help but feel relieved after their talk, especially now that Yu had finally broken the barrier and showed that he did return his affection.  As they headed downstairs to greet his mom, he had an extra bounce in his step and felt more energized than he had since Yu’s confession.

The next day, Yosuke ran into Yu on the way to class, and he carefully gave him a little bit of space, deciding he would let Yu decide when he was ready to show affection in public.  To his surprise, it was Yu to cross the divide this time.  Without missing a beat in the conversation, Yu reached out to grip Yosuke’s hand, causing the brunet to immediately flush before turning to give Yu a rare shy smile.  Yu grinned in reply, eyes warm as Yosuke laced their fingers together.  As they headed toward the school, Yosuke noticed the stares from some of his classmates and glanced over at Yu who also seemed to notice if the nervous expression that crossed his face was anything to go by.  Yosuke gently squeezed his hand and smiled at him, and he saw Yu immediately relax before smiling back.  Yosuke would support Yu as he slowly got used to his displays of affection and would make sure they enjoyed their remaining time together this year to the fullest.

**Author's Note:**

> To give a background to this story, Relxion let me know what idea she wanted me to write and how many pages it needed to be and I originally drafted a version of the story from Yu's point of view. She liked it but also wanted a version from Yosuke's point of view so I wrote that as well. That is the version that shows up in the zine with a snippet of Yu's original point of view still included at the end.   
>  What I'm sharing here is the original version first from Yu's point of view and then from Yosuke's :) Please check out Relxion's Twitter and Tumblr and what she still has on sale in her Storenvy ^^


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